About Local Body Elections

Welcome to the SOLGM guide to local body elections

This page contains resources and links to provide you with a brief overview of local body elections in New Zealand. This replaces the www.vote.co.nz website which was decommissioned on 1 October 2014.

Key facts about Local Body Elections:

When are the next Local Body Elections being held?

The next Local Body Elections are being held on 8 October 2016.

How do I vote?

Voting in Local Body Elections takes place by postal voting. If you are registered on the New Zealand Electoral Roll, voting papers will be sent to your registered address by 21 September 2016.

What is the difference between First Past the Post (FFP) and Single Transferable Vote (STV)?

To learn more about the differences between First Past the Post (FFP) and Single Transferable Vote (STV) and how they affect voting in local body elections please refer to the Department of Internal Affairs website here.

How do I cast a special vote?

If you qualify to do so you can apply for a special vote by contacting the Electoral Officer at your local council. Special votes are available during the three-week voting period where electors:

names do not appear on the final electoral roll, but who qualify

did not receive a voting document

spoil or damage a voting document previously posted to them

names appear on the unpublished electoral roll.

Anyone casting a special vote is legally required to complete a statutory declaration to ensuring that each person only casts votes once.

Do you live in one area and pay rates in another?

Then you may qualify to vote in both areas for the local authority elections on 8 October 2016.

You have the chance to have your say about how your rates are spent no matter where you live with the Ratepayer Electoral Roll. In order for your voting papers to arrive before the election you must register for the Ratepayer Electoral Roll before August 12 2016.

What is the Ratepayer Electoral Roll?

The Ratepayer Electoral Roll is an electoral roll that records voters who pay rates on a property in a territorial authority (city or district council) outside of the area they usually live to vote as a non-resident ratepayer elector in that district.

For example if you have a beach house, holiday home, business or whanau land in Wellington but normally live in Napier.

Please note that you may enrol, but you do not have to.

How do I register?

If you think you, or someone you know, might be eligible for the ratepayer electoral roll, you will need to obtain an Enrolment Form for Ratepayer Electors from the council where you pay your rates e.g. if you live in Southland and own a holiday home in Blenheim then you need to contact the Marlborough District Council for an enrolment form.

When do I need to register by?

To be recorded on the Ratepayer Electoral Roll you must submit your enrolment form with the Electoral Officer at the council where you wish to register for the roll before 12 August 2016. All registered voters who enrolled before this date will appear on the final Ratepayer Electoral Roll and be sent voting papers in the mail.

My siblings and I own jointly our parents property can we all be listed on Ratepayer Electoral Roll?

No. Only one ratepayer elector can be nominated per property irrespective of the number of properties owned by the individual, company, society, trust, partnership or other organisation.

For example if you and your siblings own a property only one of you can vote as the entitlement is from paying rates on a property not as an individual living in the area.

Can our company, trust, corporation or society that pay rates on a property be listed on the Ratepayer Electoral Roll?

No. Only one ratepayer elector can be nominated per property irrespective of the number of properties owned by the individual, company, society, trust, partnership or other organisation e.g. the authorised officer or largest shareholder.

There may be internal rules which dictate who may be listed as the eligible voter, if not, it is best to talk to your fellow owners and agree upon who can vote and seek further advice from your local council electoral officer.

I own more than one property within the same council boundary – can I be included on the ratepayer roll so I can vote in both wards?

No. You are only eligible for the ratepayer roll for other territorial authorities where you pay rates not for different wards within the same council.

For example, you may own the apartment you live on in Auckland’s Queen Street and pay rates for the home you own in the Rodney Ward. In this case you are not eligible for inclusion on the Ratepayer Electoral Roll.

Why does this exist? Isn’t it giving those who can afford to own more than one property two votes?

The Ratepayer Electoral Roll allows people who own one home but live in another to vote for the council where their rates are paid. Situations that is applicable to include having to move town to secure work but keeping a home, owning a holiday home, or owning a property where you plan to retire outside of the region where you currently live. It allows property owners to have a say in how the community is shaped and what the area will be like in the future.

What happens if I don’t register August 12 2016? Does that mean I can’t vote as a member of the Ratepayer Electoral Roll?

No, if you don’t register in time you can still cast a vote as a ratepayer elector but it needs to be cast as a Special Vote. This means you need to request special voting papers and make a statutory declaration. After the election closes Special Votes are counted last as additional checks need to be performed to make sure the vote cast is a legal one.

I think I was on the Ratepayer Electoral Roll in 2010 but wasn’t in 2013. I am eligible to be on the roll again this year - do I need to do anything?

Yes. You need to contact the electoral officer for the council where you own property and request to be added to the Ratepayer Electoral Roll.

I want to be added to the Ratepayer Electoral Roll but have discovered someone else I own the property with is already listed. How do I get them taken off and me put on?

If the ratepayer is a trust, or company, there may be internal rules that dictates who can be listed as the eligible voter. If not, it is best to talk to your fellow owners and agree who can vote and seek further advice from your local council electoral officer.

I am on the unpublished roll and want to be registered as a non-resident ratepayer but for my details to remain unpublished. Is this possible and is there anything special I need to know?

Yes, you are able to register as an unpublished ratepayer voter. As your details are not published and provided to Electoral Officers this means you need to contact the Electoral Officer at the council where you are eligible to vote as a ratepayer elector vote and apply for Special Vote using the same process as you would to vote in your residential electorate.

I live overseas - can I still be listed on the non-resident ratepayer roll?

Yes.

Am I enrolled to vote? To check if you are enrolled to vote click here